Kentucky

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Kentucky [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	993,728	988,238	991,366	994,182
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Asian	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8
Black (non-Hispanic)	8.9	9.2	8.9	8.9
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	1.9	2.0	2.0	2.1
White (non-Hispanic)	86.3	86.2	86.5	86.2
Two or more races	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.8
% Child population in poverty	15.2	17.2	21.4	18.1

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	18,600	16,544	16,945	18,178
Children in foster care on 9/30	6,017	6,165	6,814	6,895
Children adopted	398	548	559	612

B. Child Maltreatment Data [National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)]

	2000		2001		2002		2003
Overview Maltreatment Information	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	63,967	64.4 per 1,000	56,478	57.2 per 1,000	62,738	63.3 per 1,000	69,201	69.6 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	18,600	18.7 per 1,000	16,544	16.7 per 1,000	16,945	17.1 per 1,000	18,178	18.3 per 1,000
Child fatalities	21	2.1 per 100,000	37	3.7 per 100,000	23	2.3 per 100,000	6	0.6 per 100,000

1 Race/ethnicity data for 2001, 2002, and 2003 represent population estimates. Back
2 A child victim is defined as a child who is the subject of a substantiated or indicated maltreatment report. Back
3 Children with more than one report of substantiated or indicated maltreatment may be counted more than once. Back

Age of Child Victims (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	7.9	8.2	9.2	9.7
1-5 years	32.3	32.4	34.5	34.4
6-10 years	30.7	30.3	28.3	27.7
11-15 years	23.9	23.8	22.6	22.9
16+ years	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.3
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	18,600	16,544	16,945	18,178

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1
Asian	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.3
Black (non-Hispanic)	13.0	13.1	11.9	12.9
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3
White (non-Hispanic)	76.6	75.2	74.7	73.4
Two or more races	1.5	1.8	1.7	2.3
Unknown	8.4	9.6	11.4	10.7
Number	18,600	16,544	16,945	18,178

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	2.5	2.1	1.5	1.1
Medical neglect	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Neglect	67.5	71.4	75.9	79.2
Physical abuse	27.2	23.9	19.6	17.5
Sexual abuse	7.8	7.0	6.6	5.9
Unknown/missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	18,600	16,544	16,945	18,178

4 Percentages may total more than 100 because Hispanics may be counted by Hispanic ethnicity and race. Back
5 Percentages may total more than 100 because children can be victims of more than one type of maltreatment. Back

C. Characteristics of Children in Foster Care [Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS): Foster Care File]

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total Number	5,253	5,804	5,970	6,394	4,128	4,590	5,250	5,485	3,364	4,230	4,406	4,984	6,017	6,165	6,814	6,895
Median length of stay (months)	16.9	18.3	16.9	14.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	5.4	5.3	6.3	6.9	16.6	16.5	13.7	13.0

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	3.9	3.5	4.0	3.9	10.7	11.6	10.9	12.6	5.3	5.5	5.2	5.4	3.6	4.1	3.9	4.7
1 year	4.7	4.4	4.3	5.2	5.6	5.7	6.4	6.0	5.6	5.6	5.5	6.3	4.8	4.3	5.2	5.3
2 years	4.5	4.5	4.9	4.8	5.1	5.7	5.6	5.9	5.5	5.2	5.9	6.6	4.6	4.8	4.8	4.7
3 years	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.6	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.0	5.3	5.2	5.7	6.0	4.6	4.4	4.4	4.1
4 years	4.5	4.0	4.0	4.5	4.6	4.0	4.7	4.7	5.0	4.7	5.0	5.3	4.0	4.0	4.5	4.0
5 years	4.0	4.1	3.8	4.1	4.3	4.3	4.8	4.2	4.5	5.3	4.7	4.9	4.2	3.7	3.9	4.0
6 years	5.0	4.2	3.6	3.6	4.3	4.2	3.3	4.0	4.8	4.5	4.1	4.4	4.2	3.7	3.5	4.0
7 years	4.8	4.3	4.1	3.5	4.3	4.2	4.5	4.1	4.6	4.2	4.6	3.8	4.3	4.0	3.4	3.7
8 years	4.7	4.4	4.4	4.1	3.8	4.2	3.5	3.7	4.5	4.1	4.0	4.1	4.5	4.3	3.9	3.6
9 years	5.1	4.6	4.2	4.1	4.2	4.0	3.7	3.8	4.5	4.6	3.9	3.5	4.6	4.2	4.0	3.8
10 years	4.4	4.9	4.5	4.2	4.3	4.3	3.8	3.3	3.8	4.3	3.7	3.5	5.0	4.4	4.1	4.1
11 years	4.9	4.7	5.1	4.6	4.4	4.2	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.8	4.0	3.5	4.7	5.1	4.4	3.9
12 years	5.0	5.2	5.0	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.1	4.1	3.9	4.1	4.4	4.0	5.5	4.9	5.0	4.9
13 years	5.6	5.9	6.0	5.6	6.0	5.6	5.4	5.6	3.7	4.2	4.2	3.9	6.0	6.1	5.7	5.9
14 years	7.3	6.9	7.0	7.0	7.7	6.8	7.6	7.2	5.4	5.5	5.2	4.8	6.9	7.1	7.1	7.0
15 years	8.1	8.4	7.9	8.2	8.2	7.5	8.0	8.3	7.0	5.8	6.3	6.0	8.3	7.9	8.4	8.6
16 years	8.2	8.9	9.1	8.9	7.1	7.7	8.2	7.7	7.4	7.0	6.7	6.5	8.5	9.2	9.3	9.7
17 years	7.3	8.3	8.3	8.9	4.7	5.2	5.7	5.7	8.2	7.0	8.8	10.8	7.5	8.5	9.3	9.2
18 years	2.1	2.7	2.8	2.5	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	5.6	7.8	5.6	4.0	2.6	2.7	2.6	2.7
19 years	0.9	1.1	1.7	1.4	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.6	0.8	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.6	1.5	1.2
20 years	0.5	0.6	0.8	1.0	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.5	0.6	1.1	1.2	0.6	0.8	1.0	0.8
Missing data	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.1

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	<.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.3	<.1	<.1	0.2	0.3	<.1	0.0	0.2	<.1	0.1	0.2	0.2
Asian	0.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.2	<.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	<.1	<.1	0.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	23.9	21.5	19.7	18.1	14.7	15.4	14.3	13.9	18.2	17.3	15.5	14.3	20.8	19.8	18.2	17.5
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7
White (non-Hispanic)	69.0	71.5	73.0	74.2	76.4	76.8	74.0	75.7	72.8	75.2	74.8	75.4	72.0	72.9	72.6	74.6
Two or more races	2.8	3.9	3.6	3.4	2.7	2.6	2.1	3.5	1.5	3.0	2.4	2.9	3.5	3.5	3.2	3.8
Unknown	3.4	2.1	2.7	3.2	5.0	4.6	8.7	5.9	6.6	3.9	6.4	6.3	2.7	2.8	4.9	3.1
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

D. Characteristics of Children "Waiting for Adoption"6 (AFCARS: Foster Care File)

Waiting for Adoption	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total waiting children	2,013	1,928	1,932	2,039
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	84	66	33	14

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	1.7	1.7	1.7	2.2
1 year	4.5	3.8	4.0	4.3
2 years	5.7	6.0	4.8	5.8
3 years	5.5	5.3	5.7	5.1
4 years	6.3	5.1	5.5	5.0
5 years	5.8	5.2	4.7	5.5
6 years	6.0	5.9	4.5	5.3
7 years	6.7	5.7	5.0	4.7
8 years	6.9	6.2	5.7	4.9
9 years	7.0	6.4	6.7	6.0
10 years	8.1	7.2	6.9	6.0
11 years	6.7	7.6	7.8	6.7
12 years	7.5	7.1	7.8	7.1
13 years	7.3	7.7	6.9	7.7
14 years	5.8	7.3	7.4	7.8
15 years	4.2	6.2	8.0	7.6
16 years	3.1	4.0	4.4	5.7
17 years	1.1	1.6	2.1	2.3
18 years	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2
19 years	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1
20+ years	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	<.1	0.1	0.2	0.1
Asian	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	24.5	22.0	18.8	17.4
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	0.9	1.1	0.8	1.1
White (non-Hispanic)	68.1	71.0	73.3	74.4
Two or more races	4.1	4.0	4.5	5.0
Unknown	2.4	1.9	2.4	1.9
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

6 There is no Federal definition for a child waiting to be adopted. The definition used in the table above includes children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parental rights have been terminated. It excludes children 16 years old and older whose parental rights have been terminated and who have a goal of emancipation. A State's own definition may differ from that used here. Furthermore, some numbers in this table may be lower than the numbers reported in the prior Child Welfare Outcomes reports. Only children with terminations prior to the end of the fiscal year of interest are included in the current table. Back

E. Characteristics of Children Adopted (AFCARS: Adoption File)

Adoptions	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children adopted	398	548	559	612

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	1.5	0.7	0.9	2.8
1 year	6.3	4.7	5.7	6.2
2 years	10.8	7.8	8.6	7.0
3 years	11.1	8.0	8.6	8.3
4 years	9.3	8.9	6.3	8.2
5 years	7.8	9.7	7.7	8.8
6 years	9.5	7.5	8.1	5.1
7 years	6.8	7.5	7.3	5.7
8 years	7.3	9.5	7.0	5.6
9 years	6.8	6.4	7.2	6.0
10 years	2.5	5.7	5.4	5.4
11 years	5.3	5.7	5.9	6.0
12 years	5.3	4.0	4.8	6.9
13 years	2.5	4.4	6.3	5.1
14 years	1.5	4.4	4.7	4.2
15 years	2.3	1.6	2.7	3.4
16 years	1.3	2.4	1.4	2.6
17 years	2.0	1.1	1.6	2.3
18 years	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0
19 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
20+ years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0
Asian	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	36.4	35.2	29.5	26.1
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	1.8	3.3	3.2	2.8
White (non-Hispanic)	58.0	60.8	65.3	70.6
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2
Unknown	3.0	0.0	0.5	0.2
Missing data	0.0	0.7	1.4	0.2

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Kentucky [ Outcomes Data ]

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect (NCANDS)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children without a recurrence	91.4	91.4	91.7	91.6
Children with one or more recurrences	8.6	8.6	8.3	8.4
Number	7,994	8,345	6,628	6,738

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care (NCANDS and AFCARS: Foster Care File, Jan.-Sept.)

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children maltreated while in foster care	0.47	0.61	0.37	0.40
Children not maltreated while in foster care	99.53	99.39	99.63	99.60
Number	8,575	9,444	10,254	10,787

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care (AFCARS: Foster Care File)

3.1 Exits of Children from Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	12.3	12.4	12.6	12.6
Guardianship	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.7
Reunification	74.0	71.4	69.3	68.5
Other	8.5	8.7	9.2	9.5
Missing data	4.6	6.9	8.4	8.7
Number	3,364	4,230	4,406	4,984

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	25.6	23.8	13.1	30.9
Guardianship	0.0	3.8	6.0	6.5
Reunification	43.6	47.5	59.5	38.1
Other	28.2	17.5	14.3	19.4
Missing data	2.6	7.5	7.1	5.0
Number	39	80	84	139

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	1.0	0.6	0.5	1.2
Guardianship	0.9	0.7	0.8	1.3
Reunification	72.0	69.6	69.4	67.9
Other	20.2	21.9	22.4	23.5
Missing data	5.8	7.2	7.0	6.1
Number	1,168	1,413	1,454	1,597

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	13.8	12.2	18.7	18.9
Children older than 12 at entry	86.2	87.1	81.3	81.1
Missing data	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0
Number	232	303	353	413

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/Am. In.				Asian				Black (non-Hispanic)
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	10.0	33.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	22.3	19.5	19.9	18.1
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	12.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5	1.0	0.8
Reunification	90.0	66.7	0.0	87.5	87.5	75.0	100.0	66.7	62.8	60.1	57.5	55.9
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	12.5	25.0	0.0	0.0	8.0	9.9	12.6	12.2
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	33.3	6.7	10.0	9.1	13.0
Number	10	3	0	8	8	4	2	6	611	730	684	714
	Native Hawaiian/Other Pac. Is.				Hispanic (of any race)				White (non-Hispanic)
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	16.7	10.0	37.1	17.9	9.8	10.7	11.1	12.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.6	0.4	0.6
Reunification	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	83.3	75.0	60.0	51.3	76.6	73.3	71.0	70.1
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	10.0	2.9	7.7	8.7	9.0	9.0	9.6
Missing data	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	23.1	4.2	6.4	8.5	7.7
Number	1	0	0	0	12	20	35	39	2,448	3,181	3,294	3,757
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	8.1	7.9	4.6	2.5	33.3	19.5	28.0	22.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	0.0	1.8	0.7	0.9	0.0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	79.4	83.5	82.7	83.2	58.8	70.3	60.7	61.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	9.4	4.9	3.9	4.1	3.9	0.8	7.5	8.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	3.1	1.8	8.1	9.2	3.9	8.6	3.7	7.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	223	164	284	316	51	128	107	144	0	0	0	0

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry (AFCARS Foster Care File)

4.1 Time to Reunification (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Less than 12 mos.	79.3	80.6	79.9	79.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	13.3	12.2	13.2	13.7
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	3.9	4.3	3.4	3.7
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	1.6	1.5	1.9	1.6
48 or more mos.	1.1	1.3	1.1	1.3
Missing data	0.8	0.3	0.5	0.1
Number	2,491	3,019	3,054	3,415

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	87.5	80.8	80.8	81.4
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	8.9	11.9	10.9	10.6
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	3.6	6.9	7.8	7.7
Missing data	<.1	0.4	0.5	0.3
Number	4,128	4,590	5,250	5,485

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption (AFCARS Foster Care File)

5.1 Time to Adoption (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Less than 12 mos.	5.6	1.9	3.9	5.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	18.1	14.3	11.0	16.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	27.5	26.3	23.3	22.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	22.5	23.5	26.8	19.5
48 or more mos.	26.3	34.0	35.0	37.4
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	414	524	557	626

6. Increase Placement Stability (AFCARS Foster Care File)

6.1 Number of Placements by Time in Care (%)	In Care less than 12 Months				In Care at Least 12 Months but less than 24 Months				In Care for 24 Months or Longer				Missing Time in Care
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children with 2 or fewer placements	75.5	76.7	79.0	83.5	49.7	45.2	53.8	59.0	43.6	35.9	33.2	33.1	91.3	100.0	89.2	90.5
Children with 3 or more placements	24.5	23.3	21.0	16.5	50.3	54.8	46.2	41.0	56.4	64.1	66.8	66.9	8.7	0.0	10.8	9.5
Number	4,667	5,265	5,924	6,421	1,681	1,742	1,917	2,199	3,010	3,372	3,342	3,238	23	15	37	21

7. Reduce Placements of Young Children in Group Homes or Institutions (AFCARS Foster Care File)

7.1 Most Recent Placement Settings of Children Who Entered Care During the Fiscal Year and Were Age 12 or Younger at the Time of This Placement (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Group homes	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Institutions	15.3	10.7	10.6	10.6
Other settings	84.7	89.2	89.3	89.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	2,681	2,989	3,308	3,500

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Kentucky [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Kentucky's performance on the national outcomes established for the Report to Congress. The discussion focuses on the State's performance in 2003 and on change in performance over time. Change over time was determined by calculating the percent change in performance from 2000 to 2003. A percent change that was less than 5.0 in either direction (i.e., positive or negative) was considered to represent "no change in performance."

Outcome 1. Reduce recurrence of child abuse and/or neglect

In 2003, 8.4 percent of the children in Kentucky who were victims of maltreatment during the first 6 months of the year experienced another maltreatment incident within a 6-month period (measure 1.1). This percent exceeds the national median of 7.1 percent. There was no change in performance on this measure from 2000 to 2003.

In 2003, the rate of child maltreatment victims was 18.3 child victims per 1,000 children in the State population, which exceeds the national median of 10.6 child victims per 1,000 children in the population. There was little change from 2000 to 2003 in the child victim rate.

Outcome 2. Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care

In 2003, 0.40 percent of the children in foster care were found to be maltreated by a foster parent or facility staff member (measure 2.1). This percent is about equal to the national median of 0.39 percent and represents an improvement in performance from 2000 to 2003 (-14.9 percent change).

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

In 2003, 81.8 percent of all children exiting foster care in Kentucky were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.1), which is less than the national median of 86.3 percent. Also, 75.5 percent of children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.2), which is less than the national median of 79.5 percent. Furthermore, 70.4 percent of the children exiting foster care who were older than age 12 when they entered foster care were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.3), which is less than the national median of 72.2 percent.

In 2003, 18.9 percent of the children reported as emancipated from foster care (either through legal action or because they reach the age of majority) entered foster care when they were age 12 or younger (measure 3.4). Although this percent is less than the national median of 29.6 percent, it represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (+37.0 percent change).

Many of the children who are reported as exits to emancipation appear to be discharged from foster care prior to their 18th birthday. In 2003, for example, 314 of the children exiting foster care were age 18 or older at the time of exit. However, 413 children were reported as exiting to emancipation.

Although there appear to be some differences with regard to exits to permanency as a function of children's race (measure 3.5), it is difficult to interpret these differences because of missing data pertaining to discharge reasons for Black (non-Hispanic) children exiting foster care (13 percent missing data) and White (non-Hispanic) children exiting foster care (7.7 percent missing data).

Outcome 4. Reduce time in foster care to reunification without increasing re-entry

In 2003, 79.6 percent of all reunifications occurred within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1), which exceeds the national median of 72.0 percent. Performance with regard to this measure did not change from 2000 to 2003. In addition, 2.9 percent of reunifications occurred after the child had been in foster care for at least 36 months, which is less than the national median of 3.5 percent.

However, Kentucky's relatively high percentage of reunifications within 12 months corresponds to a relatively high incidence of re-entry into foster care within 12 months. In 2003, 10.6 percent of the children entering foster care in Kentucky were re-entering within 12 months of a prior episode (measure 4.2). This percent not only exceeds the national median of 9.5 percent, but also represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (+19.1 percent change). Also in 2003, 7.7 percent of the children entering foster care in 2003 were re-entering more than 12 months after a prior foster care episode. Overall, 18.3 percent of children entering foster care in 2003 had been in foster care at a prior time.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

In 2003, 21.0 percent of all finalized adoptions in Kentucky occurred within 24 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 5.1). This percent not only is less than the national median of 23.9 percent, but also represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (-11.4 percent change).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 83.5 percent of the children in foster care in Kentucky for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings (measure 6.1), which is close to the national median of 84.2 percent. In addition, in 2003, 59.0 percent of the children in foster care for at least 12 months, but less than 24 months, experienced no more than two placement settings, which is about equal to the national median of 59.1 percent.

Outcome 7. Reduce placements of young children in group homes and institutions

In 2003, 10.6 percent of the children entering foster care who were age 12 or younger were placed in a group home or institution (measure 7.1). Although this percent exceeds the national median of 8.3 percent, it represents a performance improvement from 2000 to 2003 (-30.7 percent change).

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